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From sales analytics to healthcare records, big data seems to be everywhere these days. It is being used in various industries with general success as it has begun to transform IT, so it can be tempting to want to jump on board the trend. Big data plays a large role in the security space, but do security professionals really need big data? Yes and no. In many cases it may come down to the data strategy, not the data size. There are two basic approaches to securing big data: staying small and strategic, or leveraging big data for a broader approach. Either approach can be successful, but it is up to the organization and security professionals to strategically decide how much big data they actually need.

Small and Strategic

True to its name, big data tends to involve a lot of data. In many cases, it can be nearly impossible for security professionals to keep up with protecting the data throughout the entire enterprise infrastructure and network. Generally, the more highly regulated the company or environment, the more work it takes for security professionals to monitor, analyze, and protect the data, meaning data that needs to be protected the most is often left vulnerable.

At the same time, regulations regarding big data are increasing, meaning it now takes more time and effort to stay on top of data in the right way that complies with regulations from both inside and outside the organization. This is especially true for breach notifications and auditing, with an upcoming GDPR code stating that organizations must provide notification of a cyber attack within 72 hours of it happening.

With all that in mind, it seems overwhelming for security professionals to have to monitor big data. However, a growing number of professionals are having success by focusing their efforts on the most sensitive data and identifying and stopping potential attacks. When professionals can focus their efforts on determine the scope of a potential breach, they can be more accurate in their predictions. Pinpointing certain threats requires that professional capture and record all of that data within those conversations, but doing so helps to know what devices are involved and to what degree, when the breach started and ended, and which files were accessed. Changing the approach to focus on specific areas can save organizations hours of response time after an attack and potentially tens of thousands of dollars. View More